Monday, February 24, 2014

The cynic in me finds the whole experience bemusing. I mentioned this to a friend who works in politics and is also a 6am veteran. He said, “I told you. Everyone falls in love with girls on these domestic flights.”

He's guilty of the odd pick-up line, too.

When I mentioned how ridiculous the whole scenario is, he said, “Yep. This is why I always say Mad Men would have been a more interesting show if it had been about how much things HADN'T changed, not how much they had”.

And yet ...

Has anyone ever helped pop my bag up into the overhead compartment? Nope. Have I seen any other woman helped? Nope.

This week, an engineer in his 50s just stood there in the aisle, his hands clasped, as I played Olympic weight-lifting with my suitcase right in front of him. Just stood there, looking intently at the sticky carpet. Probably afraid to chip a nail or something.

Has the women's liberation movement really scared the bejesus out of men this much?

When did it become chivalrous to steadfastly look away and not bother to help?

If a 6am flight is anything to go by, you'd think the concept of a gentleman was well and truly dead.

I promise you, I won't get angry or defensive or give you attitude, I'll in fact be super-grateful and flash you an extra-big smile despite the lack of sleep.

Which brings me to the final dismount. Even before the seatbelt sign goes off, the jackets get put on, the suitcases get territorially placed in the aisle, and the competitive rush to get off that plane begins.

Of course, I'm left to struggle with my own bag. It's not that I expect help, it's just the harshness of it all I find a bit surprising.

Unless your carry-on luggage contains an esky full of kidneys, I actually don't think your meeting is more important than mine.

And yet, I'm fascinated by this morning microcosm of high society.

And, when I helped a fellow female traveller retrieve her bag a few rows back, her smile of thanks stayed with me all day.

I would argue strongly that when chivalry dies, society is on the brink of death.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Massachusetts Department of Education has issued a new directive for schools in the handling of
transgendered students, including allowing them to use whichever restroom they choose.

“Transgender students who are uncomfortable using a sex-segregated restroom should be provided with a safe and adequate alternative, such as a single ‘unisex’ restroom or the nurse’s restroom,” the 11-page directive reads.

The directive also states even though some students may feel uncomfortable with sharing the same sex-segregated restroom or locker room as the transgendered student, the “this discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender student.”

...

The directive also requires that all transgendered students be allowed to participating in gender-specific activities that he or she identifies with.

“A student who says she is a girl and wishes to be regarded that way throughout the school day and throughout every, or almost every, other area of her life, should be respected and treated like a girl,” the guidelines stipulate.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

We are all flawed individuals. We're all sinners. So let's get that part out of the way. But there should still exist a means by which the measure of a man can be taken, by which we can determine whether or not he is someone you'd want to hang with, someone you'd want your children to look up to, someone you'd want your daughter or niece to marry.

A few of these metrics come to mind quickly.

How does said man treat women in general and his wife/girlfriend in particular?

Is he a man of evidentiary faith?

Is he compassionate and charitable?

You may have your own list of traits that we're likely to agree help measure how much of a man men truly are.

I'm about to add another, though this one I'm sure might have its detractors.

Are you ready for this one?

What does said man think of Tim Tebow?

This past week, I was exposed to two sports writers who had never really registered even the tiniest of blips on my there-goes-a-man-of-character radar. Not because of anything in particular that they've done or not done before but because I've never really seen or heard anything from either of them that had captured my attention.

So much for the whole bearing good tidings thing. In a roundtable discussion on Monday morning'sSportsCenter, ESPN analyst Merril Hoge went on a rant about New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, saying that he's "as phony as a three-dollar bill" and that the New York Jets didn't realize "how bad Tim Tebow was" when they traded for him.

Fellow analyst Ron Jaworski tries to defend Tebow's handling of his yearlong situation with the Jets while insider Adam Schefter attempts to relay a conversation he had with Tebow late Sunday night regarding theESPN New York report that he asked out of the Wildcat formation for the team's game with San Diego. While both are given time to make their points, they are just lulls between Hoge's fury-laden sound bites.

"He is not going to win for the Jacksonville Jaguars. All he will do is set the franchise back further if that is a possible feat," Hoge said. "This organization is down as far as you can get. The last person they need is a guy like this now that we're starting to see his true colors."

It should not come as a surprise that reports indicate that Tebow opted out of the wildcat package for Sunday’s game against the Chargers when he was told that Greg McElroy would get the start over him. Tebow’s “I’ll do whatever I can to help the team” pledge from the day that the Jets acquired him turned out to be nothing but utter nonsense.

Tebow is not the good teammate that we all thought he was and now it seems as if reports about him being a bad apple in the locker room are true. What does it say about someone, who has captivated the world with his religious faith, doesn’t want to be a part of the game plan to help his team win?

Ryan acknowledged Monday that Tebow wasn't happy when the coach chose Greg McElroy to start for the benched Mark Sanchez, but insisted Tebow was willing to play in any role Sunday against San Diego - including the wildcat.

''He was disappointed, there's no question,'' Ryan said Monday. ''He was disappointed that he was not named the starter, but with that being said, I'm not going to get into private conversations that I have with players, but it was my decision to use Jeremy Kerley in the wildcat, without question.

''But I'll say this: I believe if Tim's number was called, he would've went in and played. I don't think there's any doubt about that.''

In other words, there was no basis for which Hoge and Schwartz unleashed their venom for Tebow. None whatsoever. Of course, this isn't the first time they've done so. Hoge in particular has a history of Tebow hatred since the latter entered into the NFL.

And so I, with a firmness and resolve I'd be hardpressed to give up, am making a decree.

Merril Hoge and Peter Schwartz have no integrity, no class, no character.

I wouldn't turn my back on either of them. I find them each to be deplorable and pity their loved ones.

The sort of hate they have for Tim Tebow is based in my view on their own hatred of religion in general, Christianity in particular and Mr. Tebow specifically. It seems more than obvious to me.

Unlike either of them however, I'm open to having my mind changed. If you have evidence that would suggest I'm full of crap, leave it in the comments but quite frankly and bluntly, I'm willing to bet this post's comment thread will remain largely empty.

Tebow said on Wednesday that he told Ryan last Tuesday that he was “definitely disappointed” he wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback in place of the benched Mark Sanchez, and added that he told the coach he wanted to play “regular quarterback.”

“I never said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do anything,’” Tebow said. “That wasn’t the talk at all. He knows that. And everybody on this team knows that I would never not do something if I was asked. That’s what’s disappointing. People saying,‘Oh, you quit, or you didn’t do this.’ That was not it at all. It was just me asking to get an opportunity to play the position I love, which is quarterback. It wasn’t me asking out of anything.”

My brother summed things up nicely when he wrote on his Facebook wall, "Hoge retired due to excessive concussions. Based on his tirade I'd say he is still a jelly brain."

Excessive concussions, maybe but more likely, Hoge's problem, and Schwartz' along with him, is simple hatred for a man of faith.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

When trendsetters speculated what would be the defining men's fashion movement to sweep New York this winter, few opted for the male legging.

But "Megging", as the male legging is known, is now all the rage in sartorial circles. Celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Russell Brand and Lenny Kravitz have all been spotted wearing leggings, while fashion stores Uniqlo, Barneys and Nordstrom are selling tights for men.

...

They are expected to follow on from the trend for "skinny jeans" on men, which have become a staple of the British high street.

One proud "megger" is Mark Dorosz, 34, an English internet entrepreneur who lives on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

"Male tights are so much more comfortable than skinny jeans," he said. "I've always had good legs and it's nice to show them off all year round.

...

Some New Yorkers, however, see the "megger" as an affront to masculinity. Gabriel Cru, 35, from the Bronx, said: "Men in tights? Get out of here. We don't do men in tights in New York. That's European!"

New York-based British fashion designer Lucy Sykes warned that 'megging' is a hard look to pull off. "The only guy I've seen that looks good in a legging is my friend Neil who works with me at Rent the Runway," she said. "But he's young, dark and handsome and used to perform ballet at Lincoln Centre.

"Frankly any other man I have seen [in tights] looks a bit of a wally."

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Some Piedmont High School students have been involved in a “Fantasy Slut League” in which male athletes “draft” female students and earn points for sexual encounters with them, school officials have told parents.

The league has been in existence for 5 or 6 years but only came to school officials’ attention several weeks ago, according to a letter Piedmont High School Principal Rich Kitchens sent out to families Friday.

In discussions following a date-rape awareness assembly on Oct. 3, students brought the league to the attention of officials, who then followed up with an investigation.

“It has been reported that students on some of our Varsity Teams have set up a ‘Fantasy Slut League’ in which our female students (unbeknownst to most of them) are drafted as part of the league,” Kitchens wrote in the letter. “Male students earn points for documented engagement in sexual activities with female students.”

The school is not planning to discipline the students involved, said Randall Booker, an assistant superintendent of educational services, nor would he discuss how many students might have been involved.

“Our focus really isn’t pinpointing the who or the details,” he said. “Our focus is really about having this continued conversations with kids, getting them to feel comfortable, getting them to learn why this is disrespectful, inappropriate.”

What is it with these Liberal Irish fake and former Catholics and their need to display faux-toughness? My old man was authentic Irish Catholic from Brooklyn, and a former Chief Petty Officer, and he was tough and he never had to talk about his toughness in order to intimidate the panty-waste liberal teachers he worked with after he retired from the Navy.

When the shooting broke out, the “gentleman”, who was holding the infant, thought to himself that he was being a larger target (not his words, but along those lines), so he put the infant down and ran away. Away. From his girlfriend and the babies. Out the door. To his car. And then? He drove away. From his ‘family’.

He didn’t see her again until he got to the hospital. Once he got there, he proposed to her, and she accepted.

Oh, did I mention that she was suffering from shrapnel wounds?

And then he goes on national television and gets his 15 seconds (unaware that many people in the nation will think him a coward).

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are pretty simple. We've been conditioned culturally to look the other way when we see and hear these kinds of stories. To not speak up about them. To not judge.

This guy left his children and his girlfriend in the theatre with a killer. Abandoned them. Walked (actually ran) away.

At the "Egalia" preschool, staff avoid using words like "him" or "her" and address the 33 kids as "friends" rather than girls and boys.

From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don't fall into gender stereotypes.

"Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing," says Jenny Johnsson, a 31-year-old teacher. "Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be."

The taxpayer-funded preschool which opened last year in the liberal Sodermalm district of Stockholm for kids aged 1 to 6 is among the most radical examples of Sweden's efforts to engineer equality between the sexes from childhood onward.

Sadly, the linked story can no longer be found but my post, or at least the excerpted pieces found therein, gives you some idea of the emasculation taking place in Sweden.

Known as a socialist and feminist organization, the party claims that seated urination is more hygienic for men -- the practice decreases the likelihood of puddles and other unwanted residue forming in the stall -- in addition to being better for a man's health by more effectively emptying one's bladder, The Local reported.

Last night's match was a somewhat rough affair against a larger opponent and it was fascinating to watch how the boys reacted, some with restraint and others lashing back in the heat of battle. Maintaining control of your emotions at such times bodes well for a young person's future. (Not to mention, a lesson coaches would be well advised to remember themselves, should they ever grow up.)

Even from the sidelines, during such moments, we see leadership qualities born and developing.

At the height of the action, our opponents were awarded a free kick just outside our box and the boys immediately began organizing themselves into a wall to defend their goal.

That was when we all heard it, the primordial definition of manhood and the surest sign these little boys, 9 year-olds, are growing up because from somewhere deep within the fray, a boy shouted:

"Make a wall but protect your balls!!"

My friends, it's as accurate a mantra for manhood as you will ever hear.

With what's happening in Sweden, and with what will likely happen here if we allow The Left to take us down the path they're hell bent on taking us down, I couldn't agree more with Robert.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Via Mr. Reynolds, what follows is incredibly revealing, incredibly symbolic, incredibly representative of far too many males on the left today. It's funny on the one hand, it's terribly sad on the other.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Army is ordering its hardened combat veterans to wear fake breasts and empathy bellies so they can better understand how pregnant soldiers feel during physical training.

This week, 14 noncommissioned officers at Camp Zama took turns wearing the “pregnancy simulators” as they stretched, twisted and exercised during a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers.

Army enlisted leaders all over the world are being ordered to take the Pregnancy Postpartum Physical Training Exercise Leaders Course, or PPPT, according to U.S. Army Medical Activity Japan health promotion educator Jana York.

Developed by the Army in 2008, the course includes aerobics classes, pool sessions and classroom studies on the physiology of pregnant women. The NCOs learn special exercises for pregnant women, who shouldn’t push themselves too hard or participate in high-impact activities such as snowboarding, bungee jumping or horse riding, York said.

During the training, each NCO must wear the pregnancy simulator for at least an hour.

“When they first come in, the males are typically timid and don’t feel they have the knowledge to teach female soldiers,” she said. “However, after three days their confidence rises.”